noun.
An armed attack, especially one made from a place surrounded by enemy forces.
noun.
A flight of a combat aircraft on a mission.
intransitive verb.
To go on a sortie.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.
A going forth; a sally; specifically, the issuing of a body of troops from a besieged place to attack the besiegers; an outrush of a beleaguered garrison.
noun.
Same as postlude.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
The sudden issuing of a body of troops, usually small, from a besieged place to attack or harass the besiegers; a sally.
noun.
An offensive military mission. Used originally to mean an attack from a fortress, but most commonly used today to describe a single mission by a military aircraft.
verb.
To sally.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun.
a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position
noun.
(military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation)
Word Usage
"For the military, the cost of a sortie is critical."